Halls of Smoke and Mirrors

I don’t know how the outcome of the Leveson Inquiry will affect the behaviour of the British media, but it needs to get a move on before the High Court building falls into rack and ruin.

There’s also the possibility that the door is now a computer generated image and the reporter is just standing in front of a green screen…

The rendering on the pillar on the left hand side of the door has been patched and scratched in the most appalling way. A five year old could have done a better job. I would guess it was frost damaged last winter and since the enquiry has had a continuous stream of witnesses arriving and leaving through that doorway there has been precious little opportunity to cordon off the area and carry out a proper repair to the rendering.

Continuing this theme I have often wondered how the front door of 10 Downing Street is kept in such immaculate condition. Quick drying water based paint can’t be the answer because it’s such a high gloss finish. My theory is that they have two doors and simply swap them over when nobody is about. There is also the possibility that the door is now a computer generated image and the reporter is just standing in front of a green screen.

So much film and television is done in this way that it is sometimes difficult to establish what is real and what it not. It makes you wonder why they bother with those iconic backdrops for live outside broadcasts. Dragging crews out in the dead of night to give the illusion that they are somehow on the spot is such a waste of resources. Of course, if it did eventually happen that reporters claiming to be live on location around the globe were in fact tucked up in a nice warm studio out of harm’s way we would need to look into the ethics of such a thing. An enquiry into press ethics, where have I heard that before?